Malay history: What’s missing from the textbooks
Brunei has always been known to be one of the earliest Muslim Kingdoms in Southeast Asia. They pride themselves in this fact. All their neighbors pride themselves in this too, and of course, since it is fact, it is irrefutable. Right?
Good. Let’s quickly look at some FACTS then:
It is taught in school textbooks that Pateh Berbai, the brother of Awang Semaun and Awang Alak Betatar, discovered Brunei. Awang Alak Betatar subsequently became Brunei’s first Sultan and was known as Sultan Muhammad Shah. Awang Semaun and Awang Alak Betatar were the famous heroes in Brunei during that time.
Sultan Muhammad Shah was the first Sultan of Brunei. He ruled Brunei from 1363 to 1402. He was the first Muslim ruler of Brunei as a result of his conversion to Islam in 1363 for his marriage to a Johorean-Temasik princess. Prior to conversion to Islam, he was known as Awang Alak Betatar.
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Coloniser-colonised thesis revisited
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman on Thursday, 20 January 2011, 8:56 am
by Azly Rahman
Learning about the current Tunisian revolt, and remembering the work of Martin Luther King Jr, I have somewhat come to draw a parallel between analysis and hope, between reality and manifestation. From Albert Memmi to Martin Luther King Jr.
In the case of the Tunisian youth ‘chasing out’ their dictator of 23 years and their anger over the royal robbery of the monarch, I found an explanation in the 1965 classic by the Tunisian psychoanalyst and political-cultural theorist Albert Memmi in his seminal work, The Colonizer and the Colonized, in which he proposed that the only way to resolve the contradiction of the oppressor and the oppressed and put an end to the brutality of the dictator is through revolt.
One can find a similar theme in analysing the master-slave narrative in works such as Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth and Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
That is what is happening now in the streets of Tunis; the coloniser who was once a colonised mind has turned into a coloniser and now is deposed by the colonised. Revolt is the way to overcome the slow death of the masses via hegemony of developmentalism and the illusion of nationalism.
That was the path Algerians took in the Battle of Algiers within the context of The French-Algerian War, in which the colonised fought against the brutal French colonisers, ending in a few million deaths. Read the rest of this entry »
DAP ropes in prominent Malays
Latest entrant’s father had served in Cabinet of first three PMs
By Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief
Singapore Straits Times
Mr Zairil Khir Johari, seen here at a Pakatan Rakyat convention, is the son of the late Tan Sri Khir Johari, an illustrious Umno politician. –PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
KUALA LUMPUR: The short-sleeved white shirt was a dead giveaway. It’s marked out Mr Zairil Khir Johari as an active member of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), as it is the attire favoured by this Chinese-based party.
‘I’m just an ordinary member,’ he said.
But he already devotes a substantial amount of time to party work. The 28-year-old businessman had made his maiden political appearance last month when he gave a well-received speech at the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) convention in Penang. The DAP is one of the parties making up the opposition PR alliance.
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Najib cannot be more wrong. Tenang is about future of Malaysia – no more TBH Kugan Aminurasyid Krishnan & unaccounted deaths
Posted by Kit in Crime, Election, Najib Razak, Teoh Beng Hock on Wednesday, 19 January 2011, 12:09 pm
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in Tenang yesterday that he also want to know the real truth of Teoh Beng Hock’s death.
If so, it is not too late for him to meet the demands of Teoh Beng Hock’s family and the overwhelming majority of Malaysians who want to see that justice is not only done but seen to be done by setting up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to probe further into the Coroner’s finding of Teoh Beng Hock’s prefall neck injury.
The Teoh Beng Hock RCI should be a meaningful and high-powered one comprising independent and credible members with the widest terms of reference to ferret out the truth of Teoh’s death and a commitment that the government will accept and implement its findings unlike the Lingam Videotape RCI.
Although Najib pledged his commitment “to unravel the mystery” behind Teoh’s death in Tenang yesterday, and that “we have ways to find out the truth”, government actions in the past 18 months since Teoh’s tragic and outrageous death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, where he had gone voluntarily to give his co-operation to the MACC as a witness and not as a suspect, had not inspired confidence that the Prime Minister would “leave no stone unturned” to uncover the whole truth about Teoh’s death.
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Poor English skills bad for economy
by Stephanie Sta Maria
Free Malaysia Today
January 18, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR: A nation’s economy is only as good as its education system. So powerful is education that even the subtlest tweak has the propensity to either elevate or relegate a nation on the global stage.
Policy-makers therefore tread with great care when proposing policy amendments, acutely aware of the staggering impact their decisions would have on the country’s future.
Malaysia’s policy-makers, however, appeared to have lacked this attention to detail when deciding to reverse the teaching and learning of Science and Maths in English (PPSMI). And that move has placed Malaysia’s economy on shaky ground.
Cheong Kee Cheok, a Senior Research Fellow with the Faculty of Economics in Universiti Malaya, expressed grave concern over the system’s failure to produce the human resources needed to propel the country forward. And this, he warned, would severely cripple the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Malaysia.
“One of the benefits a country reaps from FDI is the acquisition of technology,” he said. “But we can only acquire it if we speak the language of technology, which is English. Unfortunately, we are losing out to the Thais, Vietnamese and Chinese in our ability to communicate in English.”
“We have enjoyed FDI for 30 years but what technology have we acquired? To a certain extent, piracy is a key indicator of a country’s technological prowess. China is able to pirate almost anything whereas our piracy is limited to DVDs.”
The inability of a nation to acquire a certain strength leaves it no choice but to be dependent on other nations. This stagnancy will gradually reduce its competitiveness and eventually ease it out of the economic supply chain altogether.
“Our lack of technological expertise will dissuade technologically capable industries from investing in Malaysia,” Cheong said. “Right now we are still locked in a supply chain but our position will shift as other nations become better.” Read the rest of this entry »
The true spirit of the azan
By Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi | MalaysiaKini
Let us be clear on the purpose of the adhan in its original form. According to the hadith (recording of the sayings and actions) of the Prophet Muhammad as documented by Sirah Ishaq:
“When the apostle was firmly settled in Medina and his brethren the emigrants were gathered to him and the affairs of the helpers were arranged, Islam became firmly established.
“Prayer was instituted, the alms tax and fasting were prescribed, legal punishments fixed, the forbidden and the permitted prescribed, and Islam took up its abode with them. It was this clan of the helpers who ‘have taken up their abode (in the city of the prophet) and in the faith’.
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Returning to democratic foundations should be the top priority
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Corruption, Judiciary, Najib Razak, nation building, Parliament, Politics on Monday, 17 January 2011, 5:18 pm
Breaking Views
by Ahmad Mustapha Hassan
The Malaysian Insider
January 17, 2011
January 17, 2011JAN 17 — Malaysia is considered by the present leaders as being a democratic country. It goes to the polls every five years or whenever the ruling coalition feels the time is right. It allows its citizens to practise whatever religion they choose, with some major exceptions. It allows the media, electronic and print to exist, with again very major restrictions. But, of course, the rationale behind all these restrictions is to maintain peace and order. This is the common cliché used to justify the existence of all the preventive and restrictive laws. Of course, the real reasons are to maintain power.
Looking back on how Malaya then was formed, there was every reason to believe that our model of democracy would be a shining example to all the newly independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. Malaya followed the Westminster model. Malaya had all the trappings that would make all other countries envious of it.
It had a bicameral legislature just like Britain. Instead of the House of Lords, it created a nominated House known as the Senate. Members of Parliament were to be elected through a general election. It separated the functions of the Executive and that of Parliament. Each had a definite power of its own. The Judiciary was independent of the Executive. The separation of power was put in place to allow democracy to flourish. The media was to act as the fourth estate.
To top it all, Malaya created a unique constitutional monarchy to be rotated every five years by the nine Sultans in the country.
And the civil service was to remain neutral.
It was beautifully conceived by the founding fathers. The country was to be secular in nature although Islam was made the official religion with all other religions allowed to be practised. There was, in other words, religious freedom. Read the rest of this entry »
When did Najib get the veto power as BN Chairman to veto parliamentary and state assembly candidates proposed by the other BN component parties?
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced in Kuching yesterday that he will exercise his rights as Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman to veto potential candidates to ensure only winnable ones become BN candidates in the next election.
It is public knowledge that all along, the final decision on the list of candidates rests with the presidents of the respective Barisan Nasional component parties, whether MCA, Gerakan, MIC, PPP or the Sarawak/Sabah component parties.
When did Najib get the veto power as BN Chairman to veto parliamentary and state assembly candidates proposed by BN component parties?
There is nothing in the Barisan Nasional constitution which confers on the BN Chairman the veto powers to reject the parliamentary or state assembly candidates proposed BN component parties.
If Najib can veto potential candidates proposed by Barisan Nasional component parties to ensure only winnable ones become BN candidates, can leaders of the other BN component parties veto proposed Umno candidates on similar ground of winnability in the next general election?
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Be realistic, Kit Siang tells Pakatan supporters
Posted by Kit in Election, Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 17 January 2011, 2:57 pm
By Kuek Ser Kuang Keng | MalaysiaKini
Pakatan Rakyat supporters were told to be realistic in their target for Tenang, which is to reduce BN’s majority instead of winning the by-election.
“We need to be realistic. It is not easy to win this by-election,” said DAP leader Lim Kit Siang at PAS’ candidacy announcement ceremony last night in Labis.
“If we could reduce the over-2,400 majority of Umno and BN in the 2008 general election, it would be a victory for the people and Pakatan Rakyat, paving the way for the next general election.”
He pointed out that should the BN majority be reduced, it would mean the political tsunami in 2008 that spared Johor had hit the southern state and Johor is no longer a BN ‘fixed deposit’.
BN retained the state seat in the last general election with a 2,492 majority.
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Tenang by-election: Attempt to transfer husband for failing to ‘control wife’
By Kuek Ser Kuang Keng | MalaysiaKini
The Johor Education Department has attempted to transfer the husband of PAS’ Tenang candidate Normala Sudirman from Tenang to Johor Bahru on the ground that he cannot “control his wife”.
he sudden directive, which orders Normala’s husband Makrof Abd Mutalib to relocate to Johor Bahru within 24 hours, was however retracted after the couple (left) protested.
“The headmaster said it was because I can’t control my wife, referring to her political participation in PAS,” said Makrof Abd Mutalib, who has been teaching in a school in Tenang for the past 13 years.
Met at a PAS event to announce its candidate last night, Makrof told Malaysiakini that he received the transfer notice a few days ago when it was heavily speculated that his wife could contest the Jan 30 by-election for the state seat.
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Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #49
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, globalisation on Monday, 17 January 2011, 11:48 am
Chapter Six: Malaysia: Assets and Liabilities
Malaysia’s Digital Divide
The digital divide (the lag in IT) is seen not only between Malaysia and the developed world but also within the nation itself: between Malays and non-Malays, rich and poor, and urban and rural. It is widening. This digital divide is also reflective of a more general technology gap.
For Malaysians to benefit from globalization, we must not only be comfortable with these new technologies, and specifically IT, but also be able to master and make full use of their potential.
Technologies directly impact productivity. A generation ago it took 16 farmers to feed 100 Americans; today only 2 or 3, thanks to superior technology. One man can now effectively farm hundreds of acres by using combines and tractors. Similarly, with efficient fertilizers, pesticides, and improved seeds, the yields have increased tremendously.
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NUJ President Hata Wahari first victim of the hypocrisy of Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan in Malaysian media
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Media, Najib Razak on Sunday, 16 January 2011, 5:02 pm
National Union of Journalists (NUJ) President Hata Wahari is set to be the first victim of the hypocrisy of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan in the Malaysian media.
What is Hata’s crime?
For taking seriously Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan of building a Malaysian nation premised on the concepts of unity in diversity in multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia, inclusiveness, social justice and values including the culture of excellence, integrity, wisdom and humility!
It was in this 1Malaysia spirit that Hata, shortly after being elected NUJ President last September, called on “all mainstream journalists, especially of Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times, Berita Harian and The Star to return to their true function as deliverers of objective information to the public, and not as tools of propaganda for the government, or any political party or individual, for their personal gain.”
Hata also noted that the drop in print media circulation figures also clearly proved that the people were “far too disgusted with what is served up by the newspapers, which not only fail to develop the mind, but are full of horrible propaganda”.
Hata’s call as NUJ President was fully in keeping with Najib’s 1Malaysia concept. Read the rest of this entry »
The insidious pattern
Posted by Kit in nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Sunday, 16 January 2011, 3:08 pm
Breaking Views
The Malaysian Insider
January 16, 2011
Since Election 2008, the racial and religious mercury has appeared to rise in Malaysia.
Little incidents of friction have sprouted here and there, testing inter-community ties and blotting the Malayan, and later, the Malaysian dream of Tunku Abdul Rahman and the Merdeka generation.
Fact is, there is an insidious pattern all over Malaysia, especially in states held by Pakatan Rakyat (PR), where little slights have exploded into full-blown crises that appear to require the deft touch of senior politicians to maintain calm and cool-headed thinking.
Name the issue, from Lim Guan Eng’s name in a prayer, relocation of temples, destruction of suraus and, the latest, where a surau allegedly had its speakers turned down after a complaint from an MCA man.
Many of these things were brought up, broadcasted, twisted and turned to major issues when the solutions could have been found within the communities themselves.
What is certain is that most are linked to either Umno or their allies, who manufacture racial or religious slights and then go on about how Malays/Muslims’ interests cannot be protected by PR. Read the rest of this entry »
Utusan suspends senior reporter pending inquiry
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal and Melissa Chi
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — Utusan Malaysia has gone ahead and suspended senior reporter Hata Wahari pending an inquiry for being highly critical of the Umno-owned daily’s opinion pieces.
It is understood that the suspension will officially take effect this coming Monday, January 17 which is the first day of the domestic inquiry.
“After taking into consideration the seriousness of misconduct allegations against you, the company has decided to suspend your service effective January 17, 2011 until the domestic inquiry on your actions has been completed,” said Utusan’s suspension letter addressed to Hata.
The letter, which was sent to Hata on January 11, stated that the senior reporter would be denied entry into any Utusan office throughout the course of the inquiry, and needed to seek permission from the company management if he wanted to enter the office.
“During the period of your suspension, you are required to be in a place where the company management can contact you, and you are not allowed to leave your neighbourhood,” said the letter.
Hata, who is also president of the National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJ) has been attacked by his own company for issuing statements to news portals The Malaysian Insider, Malaysiakini, Merdeka Review, and The Sun newspaper between September 21 and October 14 last year. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia ranked ‘partly free’
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Politics on Saturday, 15 January 2011, 12:15 pm
By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
January 15, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — Malaysia was ranked ‘partly free’ in terms of political rights and civil liberties with Indonesia the only country in Southeast Asia to be ranked ‘free’ for 2010 in a report released by US-based freedom watchdog Freedom House yesterday.
On a scale of one to seven, with one being the best score, Malaysia obtained a four for both political rights and civil liberties while Indonesia managed a two and three respectively.
Malaysia edged out Singapore (5, 4) in the Freedom of the World 2011 assessment while Burma obtained the worst possible rating of seven for both categories which resulted in the tag of “Worst of the Worst.”
Other countries that scored two fours were Honduras and Nepal while Australia, Belgium, Germany, the US and UK were among those that obtained the best possible score of two ones. Read the rest of this entry »
Plea bargaining and the hidden dangers
Posted by Kit in Court, Law & Order on Friday, 14 January 2011, 4:33 pm
By K.Siladass
of Lincoln’s Barrister-at-Law of Malaya, Advocate and Solicitor.
On Monday 13 December 2010, the Chief Justice of Malaysia, Tun Zaki Azmi announced that, “accused persons in criminal cases will get 50 per cent reduction from the maximum punishment under the plea bargain system which will be implemented soon”. There was no explanation under which statutory provision this plea bargaining, and the reduction of punishment prescribed by various laws will apply or the types of cases to which the new system may be applicable. However, one thing that was so apparent was the emphasis that this reduction of punishment would help to clear backlog of cases. That gave the impression clearing of backlog of cases was far more important than seeing justice being done. It is in the light of what had been disclosed for the consumption of the pubic that prompted the public to question whether the negative consequences that could arise from such implementation had been considered.
As on 14 December 2010 the public were not informed that the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Code 2010 (Act A1378) had been passed by Parliament and Royal assent had been obtained on 2 June 2010. The Act A1378 was gazetted on 10 June 2010. And plea bargaining had been given statutory effect; but, has not been implement as yet.
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Let’s stop talking politics and get real!
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Economics, Good Governance, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Friday, 14 January 2011, 11:47 am
By P Ramakrishnan
President of Aliran
Let’s set aside political rhetoric and rigmarole and become sensible and serious. We cannot – and should not – play politics at the expense of our national well-being to score meaningless political points. What should be uppermost are the nation and its people.
The Pakatan Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Ibrahim Anwar, has come out with his 100-day plan to transform Malaysia’s economy for the greater benefit of Malaysians. His transformation plan for the country, according to him, will cost the national budget RM19 billion.
Our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, has pooh-poohed this plan. His caustic dismissal of Anwar’s plan won him a round of applause from the party faithful. They laughed and felt good that Anwar was being bashed.
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Playing Survivor every day
Posted by Kit in Lim Guan Eng, Penang Government on Thursday, 13 January 2011, 3:46 pm
by HIMANSHU BHATT | The Sun
Almost three years after taking over the Penang government, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is firmly in the seat. On New Year’s Eve, Lim spoke to HIMANSHU BHATT of his experiences as a selfconfessed “Survivor” and about the state government.
ON LIM CHONG EU
HOW was your relationship with former chief minister Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu after you assumed office?
Tun Lim said he felt it would be very challenging for me, as it was for him … I think he felt I was facing the same circumstances and conditions as he experienced when he won power in 1969.
He advised that it was important to take charge. And I agree that we have to take charge. Take charge not by compulsion, but by example and by persuasion. He felt that it was important that we must be fully in command, to be in control of all aspects of government. I told him that I don’t think that I am that capable. So I rely on my trusted comrades. For instance, he said I should also handle local government. I said I can’t cope. So I leave it to Chow (Kon Yeow).
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MRSM schools obstacle to national unity?
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Education, nation building on Thursday, 13 January 2011, 1:11 pm
by Azly Rahman
As hypermodernising societies such as Malaysia progresses in syncrony with the advancement of capitalism, and as race and religion becomes the foundation for decision-making in education, especially in elitist well-funded schools, Malaysia is faced with another dilemma of education and national development.
Is this country creating sophisticated ethnocentrists that will continue to sustain race-based ideologies?
Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (Mara Junior Science College) schools, well-funded, well-staffed with advanced degree faculties, and well-taken care of by the Malay-centric government may be one example of a phenomena of a successful failure in the system’s 40-year evolution.
The school system prides itself in innovative curricular experimentation drawn from best practice of schools, particularly those of the United States; as its original template was based upon.
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Pre-polls reforms unlikely, says Roubini’s RGE
By Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
January 13, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — Much-needed reforms to Malaysia’s pro-Bumiputera policies will likely be put on the back burner until Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak secures a new electoral mandate, a report by star economist Nouriel Roubini’s RGE global economic analysis firm has predicted.
RGE said in its “Wednesday Note — Malaysia’s Middle-Income Malaise” released yesterday that Umno was “unlikely” to revamp such policies “blocking” Malaysia’s rise to high-income nation status before the next general election for fear of antagonising Malay voters.
Najib’s market-friendly reforms under the New Economic Model (NEM) have received lukewarm to hostile response from the Malays, many of whom regard such proposals as a challenge to the special position of Bumiputeras outlined in the Constitution.
“[Given] the governing party’s reliance on Bumiputera support, major changes are unlikely until new elections are held and the government has the political confidence to confront popular resistance to reform,” RGE said. Read the rest of this entry »
